Angelina Jolie just lost her custody battle against ex husband Brad Pitt. The two had been disputing how care over their five youngest children would be distributed since they divorced in 2019, and now a judge has ruled that custody will be split 50/50. Jolie is probably pretty unhappy about this.
The 45-year-old actress had been petitioning for sole custody, trying to award Pitt only supervised visitation of the children.
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The couple share six kids, ranging in age from 12 to 19. This new custody ruling will only affect the younger five, as the 19-year-old is a legal adult.
Jolie’s main argument in the custody trial was that Pitt is not a suitable parent. Several witnesses testified, including mental health professionals. However, the three teenage children affected by this decision were not allowed to testify.
A source reported to Hollywood Life, “Brad’s sole goal is to be able to see the kids. His priority is what’s best for the kids and spending more time with them. Angelina’s priority is to prevent them from spending time with Brad.”
Jolie has accused Pitt of domestic violence, and is saying that this new tentative ruling that grants her ex-husband joint custody is unjust. The actress first filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016, following an incident on a private plane between Pitt and the pair’s oldest son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt. At the time, Maddox was 15 years old.
Pitt was investigated for child abuse following this incident, and both the Department of Child and Family Services and the FBI cleared the actor of charges.
In a statement provided to Associated Press, Jolie’s legal time said, “Judge Ouderkirk denied Ms. Jolie a fair trial, improperly excluding her evidence relevant to the children’s health, safety, and welfare, evidence critical to making her case.”
At one point, Jolie had tried to have Judge Ouderkirk removed from this case, claiming that he had had a “repeat-customer relationship” with Pitt’s attorney. This move was not successful.
Jolie and Pitt first got together in 2005 and welcomed their first biological child together shortly after. Jolie had adopted her oldest two children prior to beginning her relationship with Pitt, and ultimately changed both of their last names to “Jolie-Pitt” after announcing she was expecting her third child.
The couple adopted their fourth child together in 2007, then welcomed a set of twins in 2008. The couple then wed in 2014, with all six of their children present. The oldest two even walked Jolie down the aisle.
